This invention relates to a method and apparatus for use in the separation of a dispersed phase from a continuous background fluid phase together forming a phase mixture. The dispersed phase, which will be referred to as a "contaminant" hereinbelow, may be a solid, liquid, gel or gas or any combination of such contaminants when coexisting. Examples of contaminants are carbonaceous solids, metals and metal oxides (e.g. alumina fines), composites, water droplets, oil droplets, polymer chains and precipitates (such as wax crystals, asphaltenes, hot filtration sediment, and high molecular weight polar compounds). "Fluid phase" is used to indicate that the continuous background phase may be either a liquid or gas, liquid being the more usual. Examples of the application of this invention are the removal of dispersed water droplets from lube base stocks and other oils. Further possible applications of the invention are emulsion breakage, debasing fuel oil, removal of fine particles from refinery process streams, particulate separation in coal liquefaction and oil shale processing, and removal of coagulated metal rich fractions from residua.